Despite porn industry assurances that an adult film actress' recent positive HIV test is the first since a 2004 outbreak shut down production for a month, Los Angeles County health officials said Thursday that at least 16 additional unpublicized cases of HIV have been confirmed in adult film performers.

The newly released data bring the number of HIV cases in porn performers in the last five years to 22, including the case disclosed this week.

The report -- and what state and county health officials perceive as stonewalling by the Adult Industry Medical Healthcare Foundation, which tests porn performers for sexually transmitted diseases -- is bringing renewed scrutiny to the estimated $12-billion-a-year industry's long history of resisting regulation and condom use.

"AIM Healthcare has never been cooperative with us and our investigations," said Dean Fryer, a spokesman for the state Division of Occupational Safety and Health. So far, the San Fernando Valley-based clinic has declined to tell county or state officials the name of the performer or her employer.

"You'd think they'd want to be a full partner in trying to prevent the spread of this disease," said Dr. Jonathan Fielding, health officer for Los Angeles County.

The performer first tested positive June 4, said Dr. Colin Hamblin, AIM's medical director. She worked the following day -- June 5 -- for reasons Hamblin said are still being investigated. A second positive result came back June 6. And the clinic is awaiting results of a third and final confirmatory test, he said.

The actress had two recent sexual partners, according to AIM. One is a porn actor, now under work quarantine, who performed with the woman June 5. The other is her boyfriend. Those men have had sexual intercourse with an additional six people, who have all been notified and offered testing, Hamblin said. So far, no one known to have had contact with the woman or her partners has tested positive for HIV.

Hamblin said the clinic is following all reporting rules, but because of patient privacy concerns cannot legally disclose the patient's name or employer to the county. "They also have to realize we have limitations too," Hamblin said. "We'd be happy to work with the county in any other capacity."

Attorney Kim Martin, special counsel to the state health and worker safety agency, said that the state health department and other public health agencies are exempt from those privacy laws and that they will continue seeking cooperation from the clinic.

In a statement published on AIM's website, Sharon Mitchell, the clinic's co-founder and a former porn star who appeared in more than 2,000 films, said the media was "like a moth to a flame."

"Rumor is rampant when the words 'HIV' and 'porn' are in the same sentence," she said.

Mitchell said AIM's clinic has been a leader in promoting prevention and testing. But, she added, "we are not the police department of the industry nor wish to be."

Public statements from clinic representatives downplaying the incident -- which one clinic official called "not a major event" -- drew some criticism.

"This industry screams for regulation," said Michael Weinstein, president of the Los Angeles-based AIDS Healthcare Foundation. "Cal-OSHA needs to require that condoms be used in any film. Yesterday."

The positive HIV test has concerned health officials and AIDS activists because the Valley is one of the leading producers of pornography in the world, with about 200 production companies that employ about 1,200 people who work as adult performers, and about 5,000 others. With some of the nation's largest pornography producers based in the Valley, any disease has the potential to spread quickly.

The 16 unpublicized HIV cases were not investigated by county public health officials, partly because privacy rules before 2006 prevented the disclosure of the names of HIV-infected individuals to government agencies. Because no government investigation of those cases took place, it is unclear whether those performers contracted HIV at work or elsewhere.

County officials were able to investigate the HIV outbreak in 2004 because AIM disclosed the names of the infected performers to the public. In that outbreak, Darren James, a well-known porn star, infected three actresses he had worked with before learning that he was HIV-positive. Another unrelated performer also tested positive. The cases spurred a series of public hearings, but legislation to force safer practices quietly expired without a vote.

No state laws specifically require condom use and the vast majority of heterosexual porn movies are shot "bareback," an industry term for unprotected sex.

State labor codes, however, do require use of personal protective equipment and protection against blood or bodily fluids in the workplace. Since 2004, five adult entertainment companies have been cited for a variety of violations. Each case has been settled, state officials said.

Since 2004, 2,378 people who identified themselves as adult film industry performers have tested positive for chlamydia in Los Angeles County. An additional 1,357 tested positive for gonorrhea and 15 for syphilis, according to data released Thursday by the county's health department.

Public health experts tried again in 2007 and 2008 to require condom use in adult films, but no lawmaker agreed to sponsor legislation, said Paula Tavrow, an assistant professor at UCLA's School of Public Health. But porn industry executives and officials, including its advocacy group the Free Speech Coalition, argue that they do a good job of self-regulation and say that the rates of HIV infection remain low. If laws are passed requiring condom use, they said, porn production would be pushed underground or outside California.

John Stagliano, a former porn star and president of Evil Angel productions, said: "The market determines whether or not this will be shown. A government agency the size of Los Angeles couldn't stop it. It's not going to change."

Daiz: So far the confirmed ones of the 22 areCarmella Bing (due to her fast retirement)Naomi Russel

Damn...two of my favs...good thing you cant get it from a computer screen but still this sucks they will be missed (Hopes Gianna dont have it)

Rick Dickulos - February 1, 2010 08:03 PM (GMT)

uh oh :o

Daiz - February 1, 2010 08:05 PM (GMT)

two of my favs....Imma try and keep ya'll updated but it'll be easy to figure out if they suddenly retire...I know Carmella's gotta be sayin "Damn....I should've stayed retired"

Daiz - February 1, 2010 10:19 PM (GMT)

Damn...I think Gianna has it too cuz she retired the 14th...thats within the outbreak timeline...plus shes been in scenes with both the confirmed ones...if I had to guess it would have to be someone from the porn networks they all work within (RK, Bangbros, Brazzers) that gave it to them...sons of bitches

Rick Dickulos - February 1, 2010 11:09 PM (GMT)

damn but the girls who do retire now could just possibly be scared of getting it, but they don't actually have it :hmm:

Daiz - February 1, 2010 11:16 PM (GMT)

well according to her twitter shes not "Retired" shes takin a break then another pornstar posted "shes not RETIRED retired: which leads me to think like she'll be back takin nude photos but no hardcore shit thats just my speculation I ain't even know til' I was on youtube and I said "Damn I aint heard from Ricki White in a minute Imma hit up her account" and on a vid some one commented "She has HIV now I looked it up" then they say she retired becuz she found god or sumthin so I did alotta research (still am) and i'm tryin to find out which stars retired RECENTLY under shadiness the break out was last month so any retirements from Jan 10 to now is questionable IMO. I hope Cherokee or Aurora Jolie dont have it

Skorp - February 1, 2010 11:35 PM (GMT)

fuck, my dreams of becoming a pornstar are going out the window :(

Daiz - February 2, 2010 03:52 AM (GMT)

damn its gonna be hard watchin their vids now...Oh well thats two off my hit list

Daiz - February 2, 2010 04:34 AM (GMT)

Damn I really feel bad for Naomi cuz she got both Cancer and HIV that sucks ass

Actually Im not sure those two are confirmed now cuz I think its just confirmed they took the test theres no concrete evidence those two have it

Skorp - February 3, 2010 02:08 PM (GMT)

i wonder who are the 22 who have it then

Long_I - February 6, 2010 09:36 PM (GMT)

:o

Lvin5992 - February 23, 2010 03:16 PM (GMT)

They need to put out a list, that shit is a shock cause I thought porn star hoes where the cleanest on the planet.

Lvin5992 - February 23, 2010 03:43 PM (GMT)

Ava devine HAS to have HIV, I would be shocked if she wasn't on the list.

Daiz - February 23, 2010 07:27 PM (GMT)

^I know....she done sooooooooo much shit for sooooooo long its crazy, shit I dont even wanna talk about

Lvin5992 - February 23, 2010 09:10 PM (GMT)

Its funny how Carmella was like an open racist and now shes got HIV, kind of ironic.

Daiz - February 23, 2010 09:48 PM (GMT)

lol wait wut she say?

Lvin5992 - February 23, 2010 11:42 PM (GMT)

She wont do scenes with black peple.

Daiz - February 24, 2010 12:16 AM (GMT)

Oh yeah I read its her manager and the industry black list thing tho, I heard her manager is a pimp...as in a "Do what Isay or imma whip ya ass" kinda pimp when will the industry learn that interracial porn is some of the best there is